That Girl Had Better Learn to Be Nice
Remember That Girl? That Girl was the prettiest girl in the entire school. That Girl was smart enough to not have to work too hard in class, and yet not so smart that she was ostracized. That Girl was the epitome of popularity. The girls wanted to be That Girl. The boys wanted to be with That Girl.
That Girl could garner an audience just by strolling through the lunchroom. She held her head high as she walked confidently across the room, secretly enjoying the knowledge that all eyes were on her. She shunned the friendly geeks that greeted her at various tables. She spoke only to the cool kids, and even then, it was as if she was doing them a favor. She was cooler than the cool and destined for so much more.
I'm afraid Alexis thinks she is That Girl.
Earlier this week, I dropped Alexis off at daycare while breakfast was still going strong. Three kids, THREE KIDS, stopped eating, yelled out, "ALEXIS!" and clambered for her attention. One jumped out of her seat to come over to us, another pulled out a chair and invited Alexis to sit right next to him, the third asked Alexis to sit at her table. Alexis turned tail and ignored them all, choosing instead to sit at a table on the other side of the room.
I didn't think much of it at the time. Alexis has a pretty strong shy streak. Perhaps she just wasn't in the mood for small talk and wanted to warm up to the thought of morning in a quieter locale. Surely it was just an isolated incident and in no way indicative of a superiority complex.
Except, it wasn't an isolated incident.
This morning when I dropped Alexis off, there were several kids in line at the sink. Each was waiting patiently for his or her turn to wash some grubby little fingers. Standing near the end of the line was Abby (not her real name). Abby will eventually be voted Most Likely to Never Crack a Smile. The kid is serious. Very serious. She rarely shows any sort of emotions whatsoever. She's just -eh- all the time. It's who she is.
This morning, Abby turned as Alexis and I walked through the door. She gleefully yelled, "ALEXIS!" With a grin, she started jumping up and down all the while clapping excitedly that her good friend had arrived.
She was so.darn.excited to see Alexis.
As Abby rushed over to us, Alexis quickly tilted her head so that she could clean the boogers out of her nose with the clouds, then passed right by a clearly disappointed Abby. She didn't just snub Abby, she SNUBBED her.
My daughter is That Girl. I've got a lot of teaching to do because that? Is not acceptable.
Friday, June 6, 2008
Reader Comments (36)
But every girl wants to be THAT GIRL at some point... This way, you can look back one day and say "sweetie, you already did that!"
Oh dear.
Gonna love reading about it though.
Yikes! At her age? Good luck with that.
Hmmm, I looked up the definition of "precocious" and it said: "marked by early development of skills and abilities."
Maybe it's just a phase? Seems like little ones are always going through phases...
LOL - Can't help but laugh here. The IT girl so early...now THAT is an accomplishment! ;) I agree with Misty...later on, in high school, you can console her with "Honey, you WERE the IT girl and it is SO passe!"
OMG! You have your hands full! My child has the power at her day care- but not because she is the IT girl. Just because she is the oldest and there are only 6 of them. Since she can steam roll everyone else- she runs with the power. I look forward to the day she meets up with a larger power force and gets knocked back a little. I know, sounds harsh- bad mommy and all. But seriously valuable life lesson. Good luck!
I fear for your sanity in 10 years.
Do you drink? You may want to.
:)
I hope she grows out of it.
Aaaaand it begins. :-)
Get ready for all the other fun things that go along with raising a girl. I, too, remember going through that with mine. Hoooo boy. I love your depiction of it, though. Too funny!
When my daughter was in preschool, my husband used to say when he dropped her off it was like when Norm walked into Cheers, the way every kid yelled "Alison!" and ran to greet her. Luckily, she loved it and gave hugs all around as her minions greeted her. She's 9 now and although that type of greeting has gone away, she still gets it from any kids that know her that are under 5. Maybe she'll be a good elementary school teacher someday...
Hehe...good luck with that :) Maybe she really is just shy and feels overwhelmed.
...or maybe she will be That Girl.
Either way, she's cute as a button. And with you as a mom? I'm sure she'll never take herself TOO seriously, which will be a great thing.
What two year old doesn't think she is that girl??? When you're two, it's all about you, no matter what. It'll be okay.
BTW, I mentioned you and Alexis in my blog post today, just so you know! :)
Duh. She can't help it. All the girl's on the playground have heard that SHE is THE Burgh Baby. She's all famous and popular and shit because her Mom had to go and be on TV. Soon she'll be asking to go to Abercrombie to pimp out her toddler wardrobe.
Oh dear!
These problem start at such a young age! LOL!
Gracie is the other girl. The one who wants to play with everyone and gets over excited and emotional about it. Which sometimes works in her favor (she has some very loyal friends) and sometimes results in her being completely devestated over silly things.
Girls are weird. I know. I was one. And frankly, it makes me nervous for both us in the not too far away future.
We've known all along that Alexis is a very special kid - in the good way.
And she's losing her adorable chubbiness! Noooo! She's turning from a baby into a svelt little girl!
They grow up so fast.
How on earth do they learn so young? That really is not acceptable. You're a stellar mom - you'll do the right thing. :)
Oh no, not THAT girl! But she's lucky, because with her obvious charisma, and a mom like you who can teach her to be kind to everyone, she's gonna go FAR in life!
If she runs for president in thirty years, I promise I'll vote for her!
LOL - oh my.
I really just want my girls to be popular enough to have fun and friends but not popular enough to be That Girl or a Mean Girl. Middle of the road is really the healthiest place to be. Sigh...thankfully I don't have to worry about it quite yet.
She has her own website of course she's popular! :o)
Well, I guess it's better to be THAT girl, than that other girl, who sits by herself in the cafeteria, hunched over her notebook drawing dark pictures of how she plans to get her revenge on THAT girl.
She'll grow out of it - or you'll squealch it quickly.
Well . . . some of us (ahem) just ARE superior beings. *snort*
Oh boy!
I am not surprised.
But I will now have to avert my gaze in her presence...just like I had to do around my THAT girl.
Since I was in Band and Mathletes I was never eligible to be That Girl. Ever. It appears that Gavin may be in the same boat since he's shy.
I was that girl. You better nip it in the bud or highschool is going to be rough!
Maybe Alexis just isn't ready first thing in the morning for so much attention?
I don't get it . . . what's wrong with being cool???
Seriously, she's confident because clearly she has a very good life (as it should be). You'll figure out a way to help her balance being COOL and being NICE. I mean, you've done it, right?
omigod. i'm HORRIFIED! seriously.
i was tormented in grade school and high school by THAT GIRL. my inner geek suffered terribly. i still see the 8-year-old with glasses and braces when i look in the mirror.
eeeeeeeek!!!
Uh oh. Sounds like someone has a case of the "I'm too good for yous". Hmmm did she learn that from her mama? LOL
Just keep talking about other people's feelings. If she hears it enough, she'll pay attention.
oh Boog has got it bad for a popular girl at school. HE'S 17 MONTHS!? He chants her name on the way there and is so so very disappointed that she was just moved up to the 2 year old class. She's not quite that girl because I've never seen her snub anyone but maybe it's because we've known her family for years. It's it a tad bit early for any of us to have to worry about such things? Sheesh.
That is a tough one. It is not acceptable, but that must be so hard to teach. Maybe there is a Dora episode that would help? Cause she's too young for Heathers...
that's so funny because she's not mine! That last pic could not have been any more appropriate. You're awesome. :P
Umm, you know what they say. They do what we do, not what we say...
It seems the cool kids table it full. You didn't put me on your blogroll. OK, I get it. Officially snubbed. I'll leave you be as you climb the road to DOOCE status.
I'm sure I'll still lurk around though--I do love seeing what the Toddler is up to. Oh, and I still link to you, cuz I want the world to enjoy your funny little quips.